SC QUALITY GUILDProcess decision program chart (PDPC)
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Take each step of a plan, ask what could go wrong, and write a countermeasure for each problem. Mark each countermeasure practical (O) or impractical (X). The chart draws itself and shows the problems with no practical answer.
ON THE EXAM · CQPA II.D.1, CQE V.B.3, CSSBB IV.D.6 · FREE · NOTHING YOU TYPE LEAVES YOUR BROWSER
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What a PDPC is for
A process decision program chart (PDPC) looks for what could go wrong with a plan before it is carried out, and plans the countermeasures in advance. It is one of the seven management and planning tools. It is used for plans that are new, complex or have a fixed deadline, where a surprise would be expensive: a product launch, a plant move, a system changeover.
It is contingency planning on a tree. The plan steps usually come from a tree diagram or a work breakdown structure; the PDPC adds two more levels under each step.
The levels
- Objective: what the plan must achieve.
- Plan steps (activities): what will be done.
- What could go wrong at each step: the problems, risks or "what-ifs". Ask about every step, including the routine ones.
- Countermeasures for each problem: what would prevent it or deal with it.
- Feasibility: each countermeasure is marked O if it is practical in cost, time and people, or X if it is not. The O countermeasures are adopted and built into the plan.
Reading the chart
- A problem whose countermeasures are all X has no practical protection. Change the plan step, find another answer, or accept the risk as a recorded decision.
- A problem with no countermeasure at all is unfinished work.
- A step with no problems listed usually means nobody asked. Routine steps fail too.
- An adopted countermeasure with no owner and no date will not happen. Put it in the project plan.
PDPC, FMEA or a risk register?
All three ask what could go wrong. A PDPC follows the steps of a plan and is quick and visual; it suits one-off projects. An FMEA scores severity, occurrence and detection for each failure mode of a product or process, and is the formal tool for repeated processes and designs. A risk register tracks risks over the life of a project with likelihood and impact. A PDPC is often the first pass that feeds the other two.
On the exam
PDPC is listed among the quality management tools in CQPA (II.D.1), the quality management and planning tools in CQE (V.B.3), and the analytical tools in CSSBB (IV.D.6). Expect to recognize a PDPC from its structure (plan, what could go wrong, countermeasures), to know that it is used for contingency planning, and to read the O and X marks.